


How to Train Your Dragon (Iron Edition)

by Surrealx3



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Dragons, Bucky Barnes's Metal Arm, Loki & Tony Stark Friendship, M/M, No heroes or villains, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Tags Are Hard, just assholes and cinnamon rolls
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-04
Updated: 2017-12-10
Packaged: 2019-02-10 11:33:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,668
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12911061
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Surrealx3/pseuds/Surrealx3
Summary: Tony is the first non-soldier in decades to be claimed by a dragon. Bucky is the soldier that teaches him how to raise that dragon.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [The Flames of the dragons](https://archiveofourown.org/works/6368689) by [StonyStepsUphill](https://archiveofourown.org/users/StonyStepsUphill/pseuds/StonyStepsUphill). 



“Sir, Colonel Rhodes is expecting you at the army base in an hour.”

“Hm, yeah, thanks Jarv,” Tony lifted his head weakly but then sunk right back into his fluffy pillow. “Why don’t we reschedule that for the afternoon, mmmkay, Jay?”

“Considering the Colonel’s busy schedule, I don’t believe he would be willing to reschedule. Also he has threatened to sic Ms. Potts on you if you don’t arrive on time.”

Tony snorted, “As if he actually expects me to. Alright, Jarv. I’m up.” He rolled out of bed and got dressed, going the extra mile to look good for his friend. He even sprung for the red three-piece suit with the satin vest. It was going to be a good day; he could feel it. He’d either get lucky with a man in uniform or a woman in uniform. Or both. Both is good.

He drove down to the Hoard, the largest army facility in the country. Which meant they also housed the most dragon-riders. Rhodey met him at the door of the facility and clapped his back as he walked in.

“Tones,” he greeted as he led Tony down the hallway, “Only five minutes late. Wow, is that a new record for you?”

“Hilarious, Rhodes, have you ever thought about going into comedy?”

“Nah, have you ever thought of going to a fashion consultant? By the way, you take off sunglasses when you walk indoors.”

“You’re just jealous because my ass looks great in these slacks.”

“Right, that’s not delusional in any sense of the word,” he barely dodged a young guy running down the hall. He yelled after him, “Slow down, kid.”

“Sorry, sir,” the kid slowed to a walk, head down with embarrassment.

Tony snorted, “I thought you fired people for things like that around here.”

“We would,” Rhodey admitted, “But today the new batch of eggs hatch. Can’t really blame them for being excited. This is what half of them join the army for.”

“Oh,” Tony stared down the way the kid went, “Speaking of, how’s War?” Rhodey had met his dragon early in his career, at his first hatching. Nowadays, they’re like an old married couple who also work together.

“He’s a bit stressed,” Rhodey admitted, mood faltering, “I’ve been overworking him.”

“You do know he’ll relax when you do, don’t you?” Tony reminded him sternly.

“Yeah,” Rhodey’s shoulders sunk even more, “I know. There’s just been so much to do around here. Which is why I’m glad you agreed to listen to this pitch. Not to put down our IT but this needs a Stark touch if it’s going to work well.” 

“Anything for my honey-bear,” Tony assured him, “And an in with anyone hot. I give you the signal and I’m not only a billionaire but I saved your life in college.”

“Nope, you are not sleeping with anyone I work with,” Rhodey shook his head vehemently, “You are not screwing me over like that.”

“Oh, come on, Rhodey,” Tony laughed, “I’ll treat them right.”

Rhodey stopped by a door and typed in the security code. “Treating them like a one-night stand is not considered right.”

Tony muttered, “Seems right to me,” before walking in.

Inside the room was a projector, two scientists and an army sergeant. They used a lot of pretty pictures and heroic rhetoric to explain why Tony should do as they asked. But the obvious catering to his ego wasn’t Tony’s biggest concern.

 Tony asked, a tad bit incredulously, “You want me to make prosthetics for dragons? I’m honored you think my skill level is so extensive but I don’t know the first thing about dragon anatomy. Or prosthetics, really.”

“Tones, I’ve seen you learn an entire college course in a day,” Rhodey reminded him. He added, voice pleading, “War would have hated to have gotten injured like Wasp did with no chance of getting back out into the field. If Dr. Cho thinks that this can get her back into the field, I say it’s worth a shot.”

 “Alri—”

   _Where are you?_

Tony stiffened, eyes gone wide.

“Tony?” Rhodey looked at him with concern. “You alright?”

  _I can’t find you. Where are you?_ “I, uh,” _Where are you?_ “Contact Pepper with the details, gotta go, bye.” Tony ran out the room without a backwards glance. He didn’t really know where he was going but he could feel it, something pulling him forward. He flew down a pair of stairs and burst through a pair of doors, startling a couple guys near them. The room was huge, the size of a football stadium, with thick, bulletproof glass blocking off two floors of seating. Tony had been behind that glass plenty of times while watching dragons train or, once every ten years, a hatching. He had never been inside, like now, watching men and women unite with the dragons that chose them. Tony took a couple of steps in, noting the alarm of some of the people behind the glass. He could see where they were coming from. Even he didn’t imagine Tony Stark ever being within this room.

_There you are!_

Tony caught sight of a red and gold blur at out of the corner of his eye and turned just in time to catch a hatchling. The small creature purred like a content cat in his arm, burrowing her head into his neck. From her little horns to her nostrils, it was plated gold but the rest of her was a loud, restless red with small accents of gold.  

_You’re here!_

“Yeah.” Tony found himself apologizing, “Sorry, I’m late.”

_It’s alright. I’m Friday._

“Tony. So you’re mine…?” Tony asked, honestly confused. “Only soldiers get dragons though.”

_Mother tells us before we leave our egg to find someone strong of heart and mind. I found you!_

“Oh,” Tony’s smile softened. “Thank you, Friday.”

“Tony?” Rhodey came up behind him, “What are you doing, running out like that and what…” Rhodey trailed off, staring at the dragon in his arms. “You have a dragon.”

Tony shrugged, a bit sheepishly, “She found me.”

“Wow,” a slow grin emerged, “Wow, Tony, that’s amazing.”

“Yeah,” Tony hugged the dragonling close, “You’re going to have to help me take care of her.”

“Of course.” Rhodey waved over one of the majors that were supervising the hatching. She had been standing warily a few feet away, reluctant to let Tony walk away from a dragon but wise enough not to try to come between them. Rhodey clapped Tony on the back and told her, “Register my pal, Tony, as a dragon-holder. I’ll hash out the details with the committee later but we both know we can’t separate them.”

The major nodded, “Will do, Colonel Rhodes.”

Rhodey’s smile turned all sappy when he turned back to Friday. “I remember when War was that small. God, they’re adorable at this age. You can go home and get Friday settled. We’ll send someone over to coach you through raising a dragon and to talk more about the prosthetic. Oh, but she’ll be hungry soon so lightly cooked meat, preferably beef, should do. We’ll send a list foods she can and cannot eat with your coach.”

“Sounds good,” Tony let Friday crawl onto his shoulder and curl around his neck. “Thanks, Rhodey.”

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony has weird friends, Steve worries too much (or just enough, who knows?) and Bucky's fairly sure he's not getting paid for this nonsense.

__

 

In the next twenty-four hours Tony spent with Friday, he learned that there’s was no way she was going to sleep in her own bed, she spared no expense when hunting for a spider and her and Jarvis got on like a house on fire.

He also learned that a certain Asgardian has no idea what it meant to mind his own business or respect privacy. He woke up the next morning and found himself staring into green, mischievous eyes.

“Morning, Stark,” Loki practically sang. “I heard you managed to secure a dragon for yourself.”

Tony just huffed, “Jarvis, I thought we had a new way of greeting Loki in place. He doesn’t look like he’s being shot with horse tranquilizer.”

Jarvis answered, “According to records, you rescinded that particular greeting after a drunken night of sharing feelings.

“Damn,” Tony muttered, then glared at Loki, “You really need to stop getting me drunk.”

“Stark, the day I get you drunk is the day I teach Thor how to swing a hammer.” He looked around pointed, “Where is the little creature?”

Tony jolted up, panicked, “Uh, Jarvis?”

“Friday is playing with Dum-E, sir.”

“Oh,” Tony relaxed. Then remembered how much damage a tiny dragon and goofy AI could cause. He jumped out of bed and ran for the door.

Thankfully, by the time he got down there, there were only a few minor burns to his tabletop and his chair would have to go but in the end, it could had been worse.

Tony motioned at his neck and said, “Come on, Fri, a special pain in my ass wants to meet you.”

_Okay, boss!_

Friday flew over and crashed landed on his chest before climbing on up to his shoulder. He was just glad the shirt already had holes in it. The ones Friday’s claws added just gave it some flare. Surprisingly, the scratches she left were pretty minor so small mercies.

When he jogged back upstairs, the most heavenly scent tickled his nose. He followed it to the kitchen and practically salivated over the French toast and with fresh strawberry jam waiting for him on the table right next to a steaming hot cup of coffee. Loki was waiting casually right next to the plate, his smirk looking almost as smug as the food looked good. “You’re drooling, Stark.”

“Please marry me,” Tony moaned. He took a bite and almost orgasmed, “I’ll ask the All-Daddy for permission and everything. I’ll go on one knee. Just stay in my life forever.”

Loki said, “Jarvis, please remember this the next time he asks you to tranquilize me.”

“Of course, Mr. Lyesmith,” Jarvis answered dutifully.

Friday blinked curiously at the food. She sniffed at it but found it unappealing. She chirped at Loki, crossing the table to nose at his hand.

“Oh dear, how could I forget?” he stroked the gold on Friday’s head, “You must be hungry as well.”

Loki got up and prepared some of the beef strips Tony had bought the night before on the stove. Friday climbed up his shoulder and watched with laser focus. Tony warned, “She’s preparing to attack.”

Loki bopped her on the nose and went back to cooking. The hilariously confused look on Friday’s face made Tony snort into his coffee.

Loki had starting feeding Friday from his hands when the doorbell rang.

With a sigh, Tony got up to answer the door and Friday scurried after him and climbed his shoulder, now adding a nice amount of holes to the back of his shirt.

On the other side of the door was one of the most annoying soldiers Tony had ever been forced to deal with, Captain Stick-Up-His-Ass. Otherwise known as Steve Rogers. The man who had a grudge against Tony since he sort of used shiny things to tempt the Asgardian princes away from the peace talks. It wasn’t his fault Thor was more interesting in booze than he was peace. And Rogers didn’t stand a chance against Loki so there was no point of even trying there.

Beside Rogers was a man Tony hadn’t met before and that was a criminal offense. The brunette had icy blue eyes and a gorgeous metal arm. He may not have been as muscular as Rogers but there was a sharpness to him that Tony found sexy. He didn’t look much happier than Rogers but Tony figured he could change that.

Friday blinked at them curiously. _Who are they?_

“Captain Steve Rogers,” Tony answered by way of greeting. He leaned against the door and gave the brunette a flirty smile. “Who’s your friend?”

“Hello, Stark,” Rogers gritted out, his brow already taking on the furrow of righteousness. “This is my Sergeant James Buchanan Barnes. He will be teaching you how to take care of your dragon. But if this is a bad time, we can come back later.” He was eyeing Tony’s torn shirt and boxers. “Maybe when you’re actually dressed.”

“No, now is fine with me. Come on in, boys. Can I get you a coffee? Tea? Some atrocious mix of the two?” Tony led them into the house. He could feel Friday moving around on his shoulders, turning to keep her eye on the newcomers.

 _They don’t look very happy._ Tony snorted at how true that was.

Rogers looked more uncomfortable as the seconds ticked by. “No, thank you. Honestly, we can wait until you’re dressed.”

“Not to worry, Captain,” Loki leaned in the doorway of the kitchen, smirking into a cup of tea. “There’s not much to see.”

“Okay, Jarvis, plan tranquilizer is a go,” Tony glared at Loki, “And we’re doubling the dose.”

Jarvis said, “I don’t suppose reminding you of ten minutes ago will change your mind.”

“Nope,” Tony confirmed. He turned to the scowly, hot brunette and assured him, “I’m not the one here with performance issues.”

Barnes’ scowl slowly morphed to shock while he stared at Tony’s hair.

Tony said knowingly, “My hair is hot pink, isn’t it?”

Barnes nodded.

“Dammit, Prancer,” Tony just huffed, knowing full well he couldn’t do anything about it. Friday seemed shocked and thrilled by the change, biting a few strands to see if it changed taste too.

Rogers sighed, “Bucky, this is Loki, second prince of Asgard. He’s also a mage.”

“Huh,” Bucky said dryly, “Are they any other eccentric rich guys I should expect to meet?”

“Well, Von Doom has been waiting for Stark to extend an invitation,” Loki said, almost thoughtfully.

“Nope, not happening,” Tony shoot down the idea vehemently, “Von Doom is coming nowhere near my house or my dragon. He gives me the creeps. That hardcore bondage mask of his needs to stay home every once in a while.”

Barnes stared at them blankly, “Stevie, I’m fairly sure I didn’t sign up for this when I joined the army.”

Rogers just looked resigned, “No one signs up to deal with Stark. But he is now, officially, a dragon-holder.”

Loki cackled while Tony asked, “You do realize I’m still here, right?”

Rogers didn’t seem at all apologetic but he did say, “Sorry. Dr. Cho was hoping that Bucky’s prosthetic would help when it came to making Wasp’s prosthetic. I hope you’ll acknowledge that Bucky is a human though and should be treated as one.”

Tony didn’t hear the entire speech. Later, he would admit that. For now, he beamed, “I can touch it? Oh, Bucky-bear, we are going to have so much fun. We’re going to scan it, get all the juicey data on it then we’re crack that bad boy open and see what makes it tick.”

 Loki said, amused, “Stark, you’re absolutely shameless.”

“Can you leave so I can make sweet love to his arm?” Tony glared at him. Then at Rogers, “You too. You’re killing my boner with your disappointed glare of disappointment.”

Rogers looked at Barnes as if he wanted to tell him that he didn’t have to do this but Barnes shook his head. “You can go. I’ll be fine.”

“He’s a brave one,” Loki commented to Rogers, intentionally increasing his anxiety exponentially.

“Okay, I’m going to leave,” Steve said quickly turning to walk out before he could grab Barnes to drag him away. “Stark, please report to Dr. Cho with any progress. It was nice seeing you, Prince Loki.”

As soon as the door closed, Tony snorted and informed Loki, “That was a lie.”

“Yes, but such a cute one,” Loki agreed. “I suppose I’ll leave you to your metal arm. Do try not to forget the human it’s attached to.” He teleported out the room, leaving Tony with a gorgeous metal arm and a dragon that was disappointed by his now normal hair.

Oh, and Barnes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter ended up being more dialogue than I was really aiming for. I sort of felt like Loki was a necessary character to add because dragons without Asgardians feels weird to me. I dunno. Loki and dragons just fit.

**Author's Note:**

> I feel like I should admit that I've never done dragons before. But I love dragons so hopefully, this will work out. Be sure to check out the artwork that inspired this story. It's AMAZING.


End file.
